Various Artists

Wierd Presents: Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics, Vol. 1

Angular;
2010

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Though its chilly sound owed an obvious debt to Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures and Depeche Mode's Speak & Spell, the music now grouped as minimal synth was more simplistic and primal in execution, existing well outside the expensive, studio-honed aesthetic of the time. The relatively short-lived genre ran concurrent with guitar-based post-punk and early new wave from the late 1970s to the mid 80s without enjoying the commercial success of either. Featuring the analog synthesizer as a foundation, minimal synth tracks were fleshed out with little more than a drum machine, vocals, and occasionally, a bass line. The limited sonic palette arguably enabled the ultimate DIY movement, with solo and duo minimal synth projects cropping up all across Europe.

Paradoxically, the ubiquity of minimal synth in the European underground may have worked against its broader acceptance: the sheer number of acts made it difficult to form a consensus around its leading practitioners. Furthermore, many of the artists preferred singing in their native tongues, creating regional pockets-- in France and Belgium in particular-- as opposed to a truly pan-European movement. As a result, while minimal synth flourished on the stage, its recorded works were often consigned to regional European labels and quickly went out of print. The fragmented nature of the movement has also posed a formidable challenge to anyone hoping to offer a representative compilation.

Cold Waves is not the first minimal synth retrospective, though it certainly stands as one of the best and most accessible. Assembled by Pieter Schoolwerth, founder of the Brooklyn-based Wierd Records, along with Joe Daniel of Angular, the compilation leans heavily toward DJ-friendly material. Wierd has been championing minimal synth, along with guitar-driven cold wave, since 2003, as part of its series of DJ nights in Brooklyn called Wierd Nights. Schoolwerth, meanwhile, has been an avid minimal synth collector for years, making him uniquely qualified to oversee Cold Waves for London label Angular.

The album opens with the ferocious and sinisterly assertive "Figures", from Belgium's Absolute Body Control. An early tone-setter, "Figures" portends the aggressive fare to follow, and lithe, sinewy tracks like End of Data's "Danse Votre Monde" and Ausgang Verboten's "Consumer" deliver on that promise, favoring immediacy over subtle shading. Even the few restrained and pensive tracks, like "A Gift of Tears", from Italy's Jeunesse d'Ivoire, remain hauntingly elemental in construction. In this respect, Cold Waves remains true to minimal synth's fundamental tenet of simplicity, never sacrificing raw emotion for complex arrangements.

While minimal synth is typically classified as a strictly European movement, two of the most arresting songs on Cold Waves come courtesy of North American artists. "Watching Trees" from New York's Eleven Pond has been a staple at Wierd Nights almost since its inception, and with its eerie, icy veneer, it's easy to hear why its become an anthem of sorts for Schoolwerth's weekly parties. Canada's Land of Giants offer the somewhat less severe but no less engrossing "Cannibal Dolls". The 1982 single features a playful, pinball rhythm that hints at the new wave movement that would follow even as Anya Varda's tense, strained vocal keeps it squarely within minimal synth's darkly paranoid tradition.

That neither song sounds out of place is fairly remarkable considering their creators were an ocean removed from the epicenter of minimal synth, even if the seamlessness also suggests that, as minimal synth compilations go, Cold Waves might be a little too convenient. As other retrospectives have demonstrated, including the recent Minimal Wave Tapes, this music isn't as singularly focused or narrowly defined as Cold Waves might lead a newcomer to believe. However, as an introduction to this obscure movement, Cold Waves is tough to top. These songs may not have been popular in their day, but Wierd and Angular together have ensured they won't soon be forgotten.